TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Anecdotes

  • Short Takes

    Did “Angels’ Glow” protect some wounded soldiers at Shiloh? How true were stories of wounds that actually glowed in the dark? More true than you might think. Some of the Shiloh soldiers sat in the mud for two rainy days and nights waiting for the medics to get around to them. As dusk fell the […]

  • A Patriotic Tipple

    Since we are honoring presidents today we might take a moment of two to do it with spirit(s). The two whose birthdays fall near today—George Washington and Abe Lincoln—both liked to imbibe a wee dram now and again. Washington even made it and was by some accounts at one time the largest distiller in the […]

  • Indian Sharpshooters at Olustee?

    Fought just west of Jacksonville on February 20, 1864, Olustee was another one of those pull-it-out-by-the-skin-of-the-teeth Confederate victories that staved off defeat just a little longer. I recently came into possession of a letter by a member of a New York regiment about the battle, where he describes Confederate Indians shooting white officers leading back […]

  • Requiem For A Black Confederate

    William Alexander Smith was a private soldier in Co. C, 14th North Carolina. He was gravely wounded at Malvern Hill in 1862, which disqualified him for further service, but he kept in touch with his surviving mates in his old company, the Anson Guards, and eventually wrote its history. Smith became a successful businessman and […]

  • Stonewall Jackson Anecdote

    I was reading the Richmond Daily Dispatch the other night looking for something else when I came across this amusing anecdote of Stonewall Jackson at Fredericksburg. It certainly reinforces his reputation for both eccentricity and asceticism. The Daily Dispatch: January 3, 1863. Anecdote of Stonewall. The Richmond correspondent of the Charleston Mercury gives the following […]

  • Cherokees, Slavery, and Masters

    There’s a legal battle brewing in Oklahoma about the tribal status of the descendants of the former slaves of the Cherokee. As it stands now they are getting the boot and Great White Father is not happy about it. The dispute stems from the fact that some wealthy Cherokee owned black slaves who worked on […]

  • Civil War on the Web (and one other)

    John Swansburg takes a marathon Civil War tour from Vicksburg to Gettysburg and wonders if he can become an expert that way. The answer is “no” but it’s still a fun read. Gettysburg on Segways? Over the course of this road trip, my companions and I have found ourselves drawn to certain figures, and we’ve […]